Adventures in Axum

In which the party fought a giant tree demon from the 16th dimension

This session began with the team exiting the police station where they ended the last session. Immediately they received a distress signal on their communicators, and tracked the signal down to a small island off the southeastern coast of the city. On the island they found the source of the signal- a strange, terribly wounded creature (described as being vaguely humanoid, roughly 4"5 with large slit-pupil eyes (with nictating membranes), tiny black scales all over its body, long arms with long, pointed fingers, small tentacles along its ribcage and luminescent blue blood) inside a magical circle barrier with a strange device with blinking lights embedded into the ground under it. Upon closer inspection by Iris and mauveine, the creature was identified as Eris, and the device was identified as the missing flux stabilizer. While the party was deciding what to do, Mauveine noticed that the stabilizer was blinking more and more rapidly, signalling that something was about to happen, and managed to move out of the way just in time as a dimensional rift appeared, destroying Eris, her communicator and the stabilizer. A giant creature that looked vaguely like a tree emerged.

The party fought the tree monster and managed to stun and blind/deafen it, calling Professor Wyrd for backup. The Professor informed them that the creature’s blood would render them unconcious in three turns, and that a team would come and get them in four. Three turns passed, the party blacked out and woke up in a hospital room.

Professor Wyrd came in and asked what happened, verifying that Eris was, in fact, the creature in the circle. He went on to tell them that the people who caused her death and the opening of the rift would likely be people working against the government and his guild, but wouldn’t say anything about who they could be. After telling the group that he would be available should they need to consult anyone on any magical or interdimensional matters, he passed on a message from Eris- “it’s in the hologram projector”. He then disappeared in a puff of sparkly smoke, and the team were checked out of the hospital.

Info for players

Hey, all! I have been diligently preparing the tenth session, and I realized today that there are some things I should mention to you, the players, beforehand.

- Keep your character sheets handy! Make sure they’re up to date, too. If there’s anything you’re not sure of, just ask!

- If you have time, reviewing the characters and wiki would be a fantastic idea. I’ll be spending time today and tomorrow updating the info there; I will not, however be putting up a new Axum Announcements, because…

- The 9th and 10th session will be on the same day, with maybe an hour or two having elapsed between them. That means the in-game date is still Wednesday, July 22, 2015.

- This is more of a note for the campaign in general, but if I make any mistakes or forget anything about the campaign or your characters or anything, PLEASE tell me! I lost some of my notes recently, and as such I’m in the process of transferring the ones I have to a new notebook. While I’ve tried to put all the info available to you guys (which is actually most of it, tbh) up on the wiki, there’s still a chance that I’ve lost something that you guys might remember, and if that’s the case telling me would be really helpful!

The beginning of part 2

The ninth session, which was a starting point for the second part of the campaign, involved the investigation of a murder at the penthouse of Anton van den Burg (as per his request, despite the fact that the police had already done their investigation)

Van den burg’s penthouse, formerly that of Henry Perkins, was virtually undisturbed except for the dead body of Theodore Perkins on the coffee table, a stolen flux stabilizer (an extremely important, valuable and still in progress piece of technology) and an apparently re-set alarm system. Anton was polite but fairly unhelpful, as he was proven to have witnessed absolutely nothing (and had an airtight alibi). The evidence collected was as follows (let me know if I missed anything):
- On Theodore Perkins:
~ Strange branching burn marks, like those on people struck by lightning
~ Other small burn marks on body, seemingly from electrical burns
~ A seven-pointed star brand (or at least what appeared to be a brand) on victim’s back (symbol seen before at the monster truck rally and the drug bust)
~ Clothing was unmarked but appeared to have been tampered with, later confirmed to have been done by the police that investigated the scene earlier
~ Shoes were entirely unmarked, as though they had never been worn
- The penthouse’s security system was four hours behind, was shown to have been reset (not turned off or disabled)
- No signs of struggle, blood, fingerprints, any other sort of evidence on scene, which suggests that victim’s body was moved after death

After some totally awesome discussion between the players, the team contacted the police and met with Sigrid Pryor, who revealed:
- Suspects were (are?) Henry Perkins, Harold the Technomancer, and Celeste Rosewater
- No additional information or evidence was known to her
- Celeste Rosewater and Harold the Technomancer are in custody

The players worked together fantastically, and as such EVERYONEGETS A HEROPOINT!

The mayoral elections are just a month away! If you are of age, make sure to vote!

Magdalena Christensen was found dead in her home last night at 2 am. While the cause of death has not been released by the APD, a witness to the scene said that Mrs. Christensen’s corpse featured many electrical burns. Foul play is suspected, but further information has not yet been made available. Anyone with knowledge about the case is asked to call the APD’s anonymous tip line.

The recent string of electronic thefts has escalated recently to include break-ins at the Guild of Technology headquarters and Gyrtex. While the devices stolen from the Guild of Technology are said to not be “very important”, our source at the guild tells us that the members are still extremely upset, especially since the guild headquarters is known for having a very complex and effective security system. Anton van den Burg, CEO of Gyrtex, was kind enough to meet up with one of our reporters, and seems somewhat distressed about the thefts. "After the scandal involving the previous CEO [Henry Perkins], I had hoped that we at Gyrtex would be able to work on our projects in peace, at least for a little while. These thefts have put us behind on some of our more recent innovations- not so much that it will effect the company in any significant way, mind you, but it’s still frustrating".Comissioner Montoya has issued a public statement about the crimes, saying that their primary suspect is currently the disgraced tycoon Henry Perkins. The search for Perkins has intensified, and anyone with information as to his whereabouts is asked to contact the police as soon as possible.

The monster truck rally held by Safeguard on Saturday has been hailed as “one of the best events to happen in Axum in years”. Upon announcement of the rally, tickets were sold out in two hours, leaving many people disappointed at not being able to attend.
Those that did manage to get tickets, however, seem to have been greatly pleased. From the astoundingly inventive monster trucks (especially the Violet Defiler, built by Safeguard’s own Mauveine) to the stellar half-time show, Safeguard’s monster truck rally did not disappoint, and many citizens are waiting with great anticipation to hear whether the event will be a regular occurrence.

The Southern Axum Observatory is opening its doors to the public on Friday as part of an initiative to increase interest in astronomy among Axum’s youth. While a charge of $25 will be required to actually handle any of the more specialized and sensitive equipment), there will be large telescopes and other equipment available to use for free at the observatory and in its grounds. Observatory employees will be on hand to assist in handling and using the telescopes and other instruments.

Are you bad enough dudes...?

HEYGUYS!

Are you tired of all the side-quests and random characters? Do you secretly yearn for some more ACTION? Are you starting to question whether this campaign actually has a main quest line? Have you ever wondered if Mayor Ward’s bonsai is sentient, or whether the characters you guys keep meeting actually matter in the grand scheme of things?

Well, yearn/wonder no longer, because Squares, your friendly neighborhood geometric shape(s), is preparing for the TOTALLYPOSSIBLYAWESOMESUPERCOOLNINTHSESSION! Better still, she is currently looking for suggestions and feedback on what you guys want to see in future sessions! Things totally aren’t set in stone yet, but it’s guaranteed that whatever happens, Adventures in Axum will be BACK, and quite possibly better than ever! OH YEAH! This totally wasn’t written at one in the morning!

…I’m really not sure why I wrote that in the third person. Basically what I’m trying to say is that school is fast approaching and I want to try and make some serious headway with this campaign. I have an idea as to what direction I want the game and story in general to go, but I want to make sure that I can incorporate things you guys really want to do as well. In general I’m hoping to streamline the campaign a bit, cut off the excess bits and pieces that I’ve added which don’t serve a real purpose, and keep going with something more cohesive and comprehensive. Future combat sessions are a definite must, but will of course require a lot of learning on my part ( : P ) so this whole thing might take a bit of time, at least a week.

In which Mauveine gets LAID!

The Safeguard team threw a successful monster truck rally that in no way succeeded to draw out anyone involved in the murder at the First Annual Axum Monster Truck Rally. There was an awesome half-time show (with Savarez totally killing it on guitar and Eric Slapton making a comeback), Martin Li proving himself as an amazing MC, and absolutely nothing weird happening whatsoever.

Also Mauveine visited Sibyl at the Kraken, talked her into becoming an informant, and then they had ALLTHESEX.

The filler session

This session was a filler session, largely because the GM was really busy (also lazy) and didn’t plan anything in particular for the session ahead of time.

Mauveine went to visit Sybil Tennisballs in the hospital and talked to Dr. X (who said something about his secret being safe). The group went to the officially licensed Safeguard merchandise store, where they found all sorts of cool things and Mauveine and Savarez bought things. Iris went to visit Adrienne Walker, who revealed that the so-called Goblin Queen is her sister, Angela, who is a dangerous rogue psychic.

The GM also provided the group with a lengthy explanation of the role of MGH in Axum society.

The group was told that the APD has concluded that the black seven-pointed star found during the fifth and six sessions is linked to a mutant supremacist group that hasn’t been properly active for years.

At some point this picture was made, and I feel the need to post it here:

Combat time!

This session featured (or was) the first proper combat in the entirety of the campaign thusfar, and it involved a lot of ironing out of confusing rules (especially ones about grapple). The team, with all members present for the first time since the second session, aided the APD in a raid on a drug lab in a warehouse on Star Street.

Mauveine proved just how much of a badass he is by taking down Ruby with his awesome sword, Savarez proved exactly how crazy useful Obscure is, TAG proved that he is a BEAST in that awesome grapple session with the demon Marcus (thanks for the punch-out image, MrBobshadow!), and Iris was simultaneously insanely helpful in terms of providing defense and talking to NPCs.

Two odd pictures were found- one of a black seven-pointed star, and one of a strange woman referred to as ‘the goblin queen’. Three broken laptops were recovered and will take some time to fix. Sybil Tennisballs got to meet her idol, Mauveine, and is now resting in the hospital after being put back together by James Sanders, surgeon supreme.

You guys did good, and I hope next time we do combat will go a bit smoother but be just as fun (if not more).

What you need to know to get ready for the upcoming sixth session

Hey guys! The sixth session will be the first proper combat session so far in this campaign, and there is a lot of preparation to do (mostly on my end…seriously, guys, SO MUCH TO DO). In order to kind of streamline preparation, I figured I’d list some of the things you guys, as players, need to know.

- Familiarize yourselves with your abilities, in particular how you can use them in combat situations. Keep in mind the abilities of your team-mates, and give some thought about how all your guys’ abilities can work together.

- This will be a drug bust. You’ll be with Sigrid, Victor and Jackson, but Sigrid will be the only one actually engaging in combat with you. Similarly, Eris will not actually be following you into combat.

- If you guys want I can get Jason’s permission to use TAG. He might be of some help.

- Also, if you have some free time, feel free to make your own character page!

- This session will take place something like a week after the Monster Truck Rally.

For the sixth session

The first annual Axum monster truck rally was interrupted last night by a string of events that included the death of Shirley Binglesnatch, representative of the Guild of Kinetics and organizer of the event.
It began when the lights suddenly went off in the middle of the rally, causing mass panic and leading to a frenzied effort to evacuate the stadium. Six people were admitted to the Central Axum Hospital with injuries related to trampling; the injuries were fairly minor, however, thanks largely to the efforts of notable psychic Adrienne Walker and Aaron Stack, head of the Guild of Transhumans. Safeguard member Mauveine also assisted in the evacuation process, aiding a young man whose leg had been caught under a collapsed chair. Binglesnatch was found dead near the arena pit, as was monster truck driver Cecil Bush. The cause of death for both has yet to be released, though most sources seem to suspect murder in both cases. Binglesnatch‘s funeral will be in one week’s time at the West Axum Graveyard, and the service will be open to the public.
A black seven-pointed star was found painted on the ceiling of the stadium. Police have asked anyone who may have information regarding this to contact them immediately.

After seven years of development, the newest game in The Younger Tomes series, Skymarsh, will finally be released on Monday. Game stores have been overwhelmed with the amount of pre-orders received, and are currently worried that there might be a shortage of copies available after the pre-releases have been picked up.
Skymarsh has been described by developers as “the epic saga of the Lizardborn, champion of Skymarsh and prophesied savior of the Norgonians”. It is said to include over 400 hours of gameplay, and features support for the Oculus Rift.
Previous titles in The Younger Tomes series are Arenafall and Obliviwind, released in 2000 and 2007, respectively. Both games were critically acclaimed, and are some of the most popular games in recent years.

The courageous police officer who broke up a fight in the Red Light District earlier this week has been revealed to be officer David Killgrave.
Officer Killgrave is well known in his department for his interpersonal skills, and is well known for his amazing abilities to defuse potentially hazardous situations. Killgrave declined to comment on his recent fame, though he was very polite about it.

An apartment block in east West Axum suddenly disappeared from sight around 7pm yesterday night. It re-appeared at 7:05, much to the relief of local inhabitants.
Sources say that the building was shortly rendered invisible as a result of unlawful magical experimentation being conducted in one of the basement apartments, and though nobody was harmed the person responsible will be facing hefty fines and numerous legal repercussions. The name of the person responsible has not yet been released.

In a rare public appearance,Irene Rosewater held a press conference yesterday night regarding the protest that took place in front of City Hall earlier that day. While she said that her heart (and that of the Guild of Psychics) goes out to Mrs. Christensen‘s loss, it is without a doubt not the neural inhibitor that her son was fitted with that caused his death.
“These accusations are unfounded,” Miss Rosewater insisted, “young psychics have been fitted with neural inhibitors for decades and not been harmed by them”. She went on to say that neural inhibitors are used in schools all across Axum, and are practically mandatory for exams.
In closing, she pointed out that Mrs. Christensen’s son, Damien, gave the government no choice but to fit him with an inhibitor. “It has always been the policy of the government, as well as my guild, to see to it that psychics are either properly trained or depowered. An untrained psychic is far too dangerous to the public, and to themselves, and therefore if an individual refuses to undergo proper training they must be contained. There is no other choice”.

Professor Wyrd of the Guild of Magics has announced a new program for powerful young magically-inclined individuals that will serve as both a mentoring initiative and a way to introduce promising students to Guild life. The names of the individuals chosen for the program have not yet been released, but sources say that Celeste Rosewater, daughter of Elliot Rosewater jr, is under consideration.

The Artemis theater will be holding their bi-annual b-movie marathon this Thursday. Tickets go on sale on Monday at noon, and will be twenty-five dollars each. Theater representatives say that ticket prices have gone up from their usual price (fifteen dollars) in order to fund guest appearances from various actors, a free snack table, and extended showtimes.